Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Vacation Bible School, No sound system required!
We recently had a chance to offer free Vacation Bible School to the children of the Aldea, the little neighborhood outside of Casa Shalom. For three days, we took Bible lessons, crafts and snacks to the children as we met at a tiny Assemblies of God church constructed primarily of tin and cardboard. About 75 children participated each day and were blessed by the teachings about God's unconditional love. Jessica was blessed to be able to lead three Bible lessons inside the church! Photo 1: The small church in which we held VBS Photo 2: The inside of the church - it was lit by a single light bulb. Photo 3: Jenny, houseparent to the teen boys, welcomes the kids to VBS Photo 4: The Casa Shalom kids (left) lead the kids of the neighborhood (right) in praise and worship. Photo 5: The kids practice choreography. Photo 6: The Casa Shalom kids (foreground) participated by leading praise and worship Photo 7: The neighborhood children listen to a lesson outside Photo 8 and 9: Jessica teaches a Bible lesson. Photo 10 and 11: The kids enjoy a snack.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Little Bo Sarai
It's cold here in Guatemala and Sarai does her best Little Bo Peep impression in her new bonnet.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Dora's graduation
We are proud to announce that Dora, house mother to the babies
, has officially graduated from secretarial school! Dora arrived at Casa Shalom when she was nine-years-old. While living at another orphanage, Dora was mistreated and ran away, arriving at Shalom and declaring herself a resident. She has lived at the home ever since and became the babies' full-time house mother over 4 years ago. Dora has worked hard as a mother to 11 children and has spent the last few years studying on the weekends to earn her degree.
Dora is excited about her graduation and looking forward to her future as a working professional. As of December, Dora will be employed outside her home and will step down as the babies' house mother. Director Jorge Mario is interviewing two separate married couples who are interested in parenting Shalom's youngest residents. We excited about the babies' having both a house mother and father . Please keep the selection process in prayer.
On a side note, thanks to our friends Bob and Georgette for their continued help during this dry season. Their donated water has been a huge blessing to the kids and to us. The importance of keeping all 15 of the teen boys on a regular showering schedule cannot be underestimated!
Also, thanks to Messiah Christian Church in Virginia for their generous donation to fix the well. In the past, Shalom received 75% of the water supply from the well, so when it is again in working condition, water shortages should be a thing of the past!
, has officially graduated from secretarial school! Dora arrived at Casa Shalom when she was nine-years-old. While living at another orphanage, Dora was mistreated and ran away, arriving at Shalom and declaring herself a resident. She has lived at the home ever since and became the babies' full-time house mother over 4 years ago. Dora has worked hard as a mother to 11 children and has spent the last few years studying on the weekends to earn her degree.Dora is excited about her graduation and looking forward to her future as a working professional. As of December, Dora will be employed outside her home and will step down as the babies' house mother. Director Jorge Mario is interviewing two separate married couples who are interested in parenting Shalom's youngest residents. We excited about the babies' having both a house mother and father . Please keep the selection process in prayer.
On a side note, thanks to our friends Bob and Georgette for their continued help during this dry season. Their donated water has been a huge blessing to the kids and to us. The importance of keeping all 15 of the teen boys on a regular showering schedule cannot be underestimated!
Also, thanks to Messiah Christian Church in Virginia for their generous donation to fix the well. In the past, Shalom received 75% of the water supply from the well, so when it is again in working condition, water shortages should be a thing of the past!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
15th Birthday party, Christmas celebration, and a talent show!
Tonight was an important night at Casa Shalom! We had three celebrations - the first was the quincienera celebration for Florentina and Enma. A quincienera is a 15th-birthday celebration and is similar to a sweet-sixteen party, but a much more important custom in Latin America. The party signifies a girl's transition from childhood into womanhood. Flora and Enma both turned 15 during this past year but were never given parties by the previous director - Director Jorge Mario wanted to make this up to them and in photo 1, he plays the traditional role of the father escorting his daughter to her party.
Our second celebration was a Christmas party. We had a traditional dinner of tamales, and lit Christmas lights on the "tree house tree" on Shalom's property. Photo 2 shows the lights and in photo 3, Vinicio and Alejandro pose in front of the tree, all dressed up for the big occasion. Part of the Christmas celebration was a fireworks show! Many of the kids had never seen fireworks and were in awe of the show, which was donated by a local man who owns a fireworks company. In photos 4 and 5, Jose Ramiro and Ana and Jose Marcelino and Antonio watch the fireworks! The last portion of the celebration was a talent show - both kids and staff participated in everything from instrumental performances to singing to dramas to poetry recitations. In video 1, house dad Josue shows off his great guitar skills. In video 2, Edwin and Cesar show off their soccer tricks. Video 3 shows part of the fireworks show and video 4 is of Enma and Florentina during their special ceremony.
